Local Anesthetics for Skin Grafting and Local Flaps

In plastic surgery, there are many procedures that can be performed using local instead of general anesthesia. Not only can this help mitigate health care costs, but precious operating-room resources can also be directed to areas of greater need. Common procedures that can be performed under local anesthetics include skin grafts and local flaps. However, as not all patients are suitable for local anesthesia, careful patient selection is necessary to maintain the standard of care. This article describes the detailed surgical approach to using local anesthetics for skin grafts and local flaps.